Merchant Archive
Thread: A question for pure merchants
Holo recently said that the rate on NPC vendors for maintenance will get fixed.
My question is this, if the rate remains 1% per hour, how do you "pure merchants" who don't make their goods expect to make a profit. As someone pointed out in the relevant thread that will eat a 20% markup in a day.
Simple answer - I won't be able to make a profit. Heck - I won't be able to avoid having a loss.
My vendors are not located "one minute walk from anywhere" (as many people are prone to spout when advertising their goods). Mine are in a more remote location as we did NOT want to be that close to a current city and we are, as many others are doing, working towards the goal of eventually becoming a player city.
Until that time, an item may sit in my vendor for several days before just the right person comes along to purchase it.
Example: I recently sold a pre-sliced DLT20a rifle for 3500 credits from my vendor. I didn't make it- the weapon was on consigment from our local weaponsmith. Let's use 20% commission as an example, making my cut 700 credits. At 1% per hour, I would have started losing money by the end of the first day it was in the vendor.
This is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, a reasonable solution. One percent PER WEEK - that might work - if I can't sell an item within a week or so, perhaps I have it priced wrong.
I can tell you what I'm doing to prepare for it.
I'm talking as many of suppliers as Ican into a new deal, one geared towards their profit but not their experience.
I'm assembling big stacks of the resources necessary to craft particular items, I'm taking them to crafters that have been my suppliers and asking them to experiment a schematic for me, and I'm paying them a fraction of the cost per item. Example: if I was paying 250 per Tatooine Sunburn from the Chef, I'm now asking to buy a schematic for 1000 for 25K-50K.
Chef has no material costs, as I'm providing the resources. They are really getting paid 25K-50K for developing a single "good" item (as far as their time) if they don't mind that I'll be making a similar product on a totally different planet.
I take the resources and the schematic back to my pad and my factories, and I'm a manufacturer/merchant -- I can kick out just enough product to put on the merchant to reduce my maintainence, store the rest in crates in my house (since crates will count as 1 spot), and my fixed cost is now 25-50 credits plus manufacturing costs .... call it < 100 credits expense on an item that sells for 400, or a crafter-like margin.
Then I can let the vender eat more of the sales cost having the inventory around.
Of course, I have a Galactic Patent on this, and I will sue you in Imperial Court if you don't pay me a royalty if you use this in your own business. *evil grin*
Carvin Abrok, Merchant/Smuggler (Lowca)
If the do this im untraining all ofmerchant and only doing droid on a by order basis ... ill go to selling materials in the bazzaar for cash and macro playing music for my new profession...hehe .... always wanted to learn piano ....
--Dolomite
i have both kinds...NPC and terminal....i can tell you right now if rates on NPCs go up, it will kill merchants...
The terminal, at this point is really just a money pit...i only use it because its fits with the stores theme and decor....i am only able to afford it becuase i do ok sales with the NPCs...
The problem is that in a retail business, items dont sell in 1-2 days alot of the time...I think Hollow fails to realize this...so if i have to list an item for a week, the maintence will cost more than my profit....
The Bazaar for me is still the best method of sales...its a flat fee of 20 credits...i would rather take a loss of say 100-2000 credits to list there than take a hit of 5000+ credits to list on my vendor for a few days...
The money sinks for artisans is really draining the fun with my credits
Vendor fees should be steady, not adjustable based on items for sale. That just doesn't make sense. We're already paying rent for the building, and our employee salary should be a set fee. Granted, nicer employees should cost more, butit shouldn't just increase because we're selling 5 items worth 50K instead of 5 items worth 5K.
There will be no 'pure' merchants, just as there are no 'pure' crafters.
All crafters (in my experience) have picked up the essential functions of the defunct miner profession.
All merchants should be ready to pick up the essential functions of the defunct industrialist profession.
The poster above, who is purchasing schematics to run in his own factories has exactly the right idea.
Just my 2credits.
PocoHutt wrote:
I can tell you what I'm doing to prepare for it.
I'm talking as many of suppliers as Ican into a new deal, one geared towards their profit but not their experience.
I'm assembling big stacks of the resources necessary to craft particular items, I'm taking them to crafters that have been my suppliers and asking them to experiment a schematic for me, and I'm paying them a fraction of the cost per item. Example: if I was paying 250 per Tatooine Sunburn from the Chef, I'm now asking to buy a schematic for 1000 for 25K-50K.
Chef has no material costs, as I'm providing the resources. They are really getting paid 25K-50K for developing a single "good" item (as far as their time) if they don't mind that I'll be making a similar product on a totally different planet.
I take the resources and the schematic back to my pad and my factories, and I'm a manufacturer/merchant -- I can kick out just enough product to put on the merchant to reduce my maintainence, store the rest in crates in my house (since crates will count as 1 spot), and my fixed cost is now 25-50 credits plus manufacturing costs .... call it < 100 credits expense on an item that sells for 400, or a crafter-like margin.
Then I can let the vender eat more of the sales cost having the inventory around.
Of course, I have a Galactic Patent on this, and I will sue you in Imperial Court if you don't pay me a royalty if you use this in your own business. *evil grin*
Carvin Abrok, Merchant/Smuggler (Lowca)
I thought of that days ago, the problem you wil encounter is that crafters guard there schematics like a mother swan guards her eggs.
It isn't just 'pure merchants' that will have to close. My first attempt at a tailor vendor was a terminal, and it didn't take many clothes at 200-400 credits each to get ridiculous maintence for the potential profit. And this was crafting all my own goods with free materials.
I don't see the game gains by stopping people opening shops selling less in-demand items. I run a camping store. It's not the most money making business, and the items tend to sit around for some days before people buy them. But it's nice to have themed shops in the game, and to stock some more niche demand items (like our firework selection). But the intended maintence rates will kill the shop, due to the fact we don't sell out daily.
It's a real shame the maintence fees are designed purely for high-demand item seller. Shops will all get more samey, have less real stock, and all round, shopping trips will become very boring. Just lots of shops with five of the fastest selling items on the vendor, and a sign saying 'mail me for orders'. It's not the same as going in to find a vendor well stocked, with some of the less-wanted things too.
If it's a concern about people abusing it and filling the database with items, why not just set a reasonable item limit on vendors and reduce maintence? Or perhaps charge the base maintence till people hit a certain cut-off point. Perhaps 50K or the like. Then start increasing maintence if they stock above that value. It'd give a way for small-profit and low-cost item shops to have some chance at staying open.
It's a pity this never made it into our top five issues. Ad-barking turning off, or your vendor not being the right shade of purple, is more of an annoyance. Maintence fees you can't afford will close down the business totally. I suppose it'll be back to the bazaar for most of us once it's 'fixed'.